Reading: Facilitating access to sports for people in poverty? A study on local social sports policy

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Facilitating access to sports for people in poverty? A study on local social sports policy

Authors:

Hanne Vandermeerschen,

Hanne Vandermeerschen, PhD, is researcher at the Policy in Sports & Physical Activity Research Group at the University of Leuven, Belgium. Her research focuses mainly on social inclusion and sports., BE

About Hanne

Hanne Vandermeerschen, PhD, is researcher at the Policy in Sports & Physical Activity Research Group at the University of Leuven, Belgium. Her research focuses mainly on social inclusion and sports.

Marjolein van Poppel,

Marjolein van Poppel is researcher at the Policy in Sports & Physical Activity Research Group at the University of Leuven and policy advisor at the Flemish Institute for Sport Administration and Recreation Management, Belgium.

About Marjolein

Marjolein van Poppel is researcher at the Policy in Sports & Physical Activity Research Group at the University of Leuven and policy advisor at the Flemish Institute for Sport Administration and Recreation Management, Belgium.

Facilitating access to sports for people in poverty? A study on local social sports policyResearch has shown that living in poverty affects the opportunities for engaging in practicing sports. People in poverty participate less in sports than people who have no (or fewer) difficulties making ends meet. At the Flemish policy level, initiatives have been undertaken to ensure that more local sports authorities promote and facilitate participation in sports for people in poverty. However, it remains unclear how these concerns are being translated at the local level. In this study, we investigate the extent to which local sports authorities are currently undertaking initiatives to facilitate participation in sports for people in poverty, which difficulties local sports authorities encounter in trying to reach this goal, and the extent to which local social sports policy results from partnerships between sports and the social sector. The data used in this study originate from the Flemish Panel study on Local Sports Authorities (2014). The results indicate that the sports sector and the social sector are still, to a large extent, two separate worlds and bridging the gap between them remains a challenge. Suggestions are offered for further research and for the development of social sports policy.

How to Cite:
Vandermeerschen, H., van Poppel, M. and Scheerder, J., 2016. Facilitating access to sports for people in poverty? A study on local social sports policy. Journal of Social Intervention: Theory and Practice, 25(2), pp.4–22. DOI: http://doi.org/10.18352/jsi.448

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Vandermeerschen, H., van Poppel, M. and Scheerder, J., 2016. Facilitating access to sports for people in poverty? A study on local social sports policy. Journal of Social Intervention: Theory and Practice, 25(2), pp.4–22. DOI: http://doi.org/10.18352/jsi.448

Vandermeerschen H, van Poppel M, Scheerder J. Facilitating access to sports for people in poverty? A study on local social sports policy. Journal of Social Intervention: Theory and Practice. 2016;25(2):4–22. DOI: http://doi.org/10.18352/jsi.448

Vandermeerschen, H., van Poppel, M., & Scheerder, J. (2016). Facilitating access to sports for people in poverty? A study on local social sports policy. Journal of Social Intervention: Theory and Practice, 25(2), 4–22. DOI: http://doi.org/10.18352/jsi.448

Vandermeerschen H, van Poppel M and Scheerder J, ‘Facilitating Access to Sports for People in Poverty? A Study on Local Social Sports Policy’ (2016) 25 Journal of Social Intervention: Theory and Practice 4 DOI: http://doi.org/10.18352/jsi.448

Vandermeerschen, Hanne, Marjolein van Poppel, and Jeroen Scheerder. 2016. “Facilitating Access to Sports for People in Poverty? A Study on Local Social Sports Policy”. Journal of Social Intervention: Theory and Practice 25 (2): 4–22. DOI: http://doi.org/10.18352/jsi.448

Vandermeerschen, Hanne, Marjolein van Poppel, and Jeroen Scheerder. “Facilitating Access to Sports for People in Poverty? A Study on Local Social Sports Policy”. Journal of Social Intervention: Theory and Practice 25, no. 2 (2016): 4–22. DOI: http://doi.org/10.18352/jsi.448

Vandermeerschen, H., et al.. “Facilitating Access to Sports for People in Poverty? A Study on Local Social Sports Policy”. Journal of Social Intervention: Theory and Practice, vol. 25, no. 2, 2016, pp. 4–2. DOI: http://doi.org/10.18352/jsi.448